Jerry Hood Funneral Service

Welcome, Scripture, Prayer- Gary  (Brief!)

Congregational Singing: Amazing Grace

Obituary - Juston

JERRY LYNN HOOD

Jerry Lynn Hood, age 86, of Mount Vernon, Missouri, passed away Sunday, January 21, 2024, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, surrounded by his family. He was born October 22, 1937, at his family home in Miller, Missouri, to Charles and Gladys (Eubanks) Hood, one of 11 children. He accepted Christ as his Savior at the age of 12 at Summit Baptist Church and was baptized in Williams Creek. Jerry graduated from Miller High School in 1955 and received an Agricultural Economics degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. On June 6, 1964, Jerry and Patricia Cantrell were united in marriage at the Miller United Methodist Church.

Jerry served in the Missouri National Guard and worked for the Ralls County and Lawrence County Farmers Home Administration and retired from First Savings Bank/Union Planters where he worked as a loan officer and appraiser. He was a lifelong farmer and cattleman. He enjoyed working outdoors and was a hard worker. His days consisted of getting up early to farm, going to town to work, and coming back home to farm.

Jerry most enjoyed his family and his friends. He loved to travel with them and see the country, get together for family gatherings, and go out for breakfast. He was a quiet listener who could strike up a conversation with strangers on his many travels and was a lifelong learner who was curious about the world around him.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Pat and his two daughters, Melissa (Mark) Short and Pam ( David) Bartelsmeyer all of Mount Vernon; four grandsons, Corey (Erin Warner) Nelson, Clark, Colin, and Carter Bartelsmeyer; two great-grandchildren, Avery and Clay Nelson, and step-grandson, Jacob (Kelli) Lamkins and children Hoyt and Kaylyn. Also surviving are two sisters, Helen Wilmoth, and Jo Ann (Gary) Wilson; one brother, Paul K. (Darlene) Hood; brother-in-law, Gary Garton; sister-in-law, Judy Hood, as well as many nieces, nephews, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Gladys Hood, father and mother-in-law, Vincent and Ruth Cantrell, brothers, Winston, Winfred, Keith, Ralph, Morris Ray, and Max Hood, sister, Betty Ray, and grandson, Tyler Scout Bartelsmeyer, as well as brother and sisters-in-law, Arlene, Becky, Ulla (Oola), and Donna Hood, Paul Ray, Dwight Wilmoth, Avon (aVon) and Wilma Snyder, and Barbara Garton.

Family Remembrances – Juston

Every summer each of us boys would get a week at gma and gpas house. We called this Camp Grandma. We got to do whatever we wanted to do for that time. Go to the zoo or see a movie. On one of those days, I remember begging gma to let me ride the tractor with gpa, I was probably around 4. I vividly remember crying into gma arms when she said no the first time. After a little insistence, she said yes and I got on the tractor. He was teaching me how everything on the tractor works, how to start it, how the bucket works, letting me push all the buttons. I remember him being so happy outside with one of his boys “working”. I appreciate all of your influence and wisdom. You are the best grandfather anyone could ask for. Love you Colin

It would be impossible to pen the lifetime of memories I have with grandpa. I'll try to run the gambit, in an effort to paint the picture. Be it the times he would have to "take me down a notch". Throwing all the couch cushions on the floor so I could live out my dreams of being a WCW wrestler in the den. Maybe it's the times we bottlefed the calves in the mudroom, early in the morning, the "smell of money" in the air. The lesson that nothing gets done on an empty stomach. Evident by the mandatory sausage biscuit and coffee from McDonald's to start a day, Crossroads for lunch, and my child self, home well before dinner. Little did I realize at the time, he returned back to put in the actual day's work he sacrificed to spend with me. Maybe it was riding in the old white farm truck, watching the road through the rusted floor boards, with that magical hydraulic control for the bale spike in my lap. The smell of fescew unescapable. AM radio playing in every barn and outbuilding - the dust an inch thick - every tool you could need spread between the bed and extended cab of the truck. The countless other odds and ends spread about, each apparently valuable, because of the insistence that we don't need to get rid of ANY of it. The summer vacations to Florida, Glacier National Park, and following the Lewis and Clark Trail. Stopping at a hotel every night with a pool and arguing about where to eat dinner. I wanted fast food, he just wanted someplace he could get some "damn green beans". Always followed by the obligitory "Jerry!! Language!" from grandma. How he called me by name after waking up from his stroke and then continued to beat expectations of recovery. His insistence that he had flown fighter planes in WW2. The way he could strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and be genuinely interested in that person's life. How even when I chose my own path and was sentenced to my penance, he refused to believe that I had done anything wrong and this was somehow his fault. The mornings at breakfast club - how he would order a "small pancake" with a wink. "It will be a regular size" he would whisper to me out of grandma's earshot. I'd always be sure to save him a couple of whatever fried food I had on my plate. He deserved it. I think that's the bigger picture - the story of a man, a lifetime of hardwork, dedication to family and friends, keeping an eye on the longterm goal. Things that really resonate with me as I begin my own family. These are traits and characteristics I hope to extend to my children and grandchildren. Things I won't soon forget. I miss you more than words can express. You were my first hero and the first person I hope to see on the other side. I love you.

-Corey

Being the youngest of the grandchildren my perspective of grandpa is slightly different than those other family members who got to see first hand the stories of how hard working and disciplined and intentional he was with his thoughts, words, and actions. Growing up my mind was filled with stories of how mighty Grandpa was in everything he did and even if half of them ring true it would speak volumes on his unwavering character and in him an impeccable choice of a role model. The thing is though, I’ve never had a doubt every single one of the stories I’ve heard had even a shred of deception to them because even after life threw an enormous challenge in his path in the form of his stroke, he never quit fighting. He fought to learn to walk again, he fought to learn my name again, and he fought to find a way to laugh and enjoy life again. He did that not just for me but for everybody he loved and held dear. He did that so he could walk into the stadium and up those stairs of the stands, he did that so he could yell my name from those stands and cheer me on, and he did that so afterwards we could laugh about it and enjoy life together. Of course I’m sure there were other reasons he did what he did but from my humble perspective he was the best grandpa I could ever ask for and I’ll always remember and be thankful for how present he was in my life and how hard he worked to be there to be present for me. He throughly and wholeheartedly earned the number one grandpa award in my book.

-Carter

My Grandfather was a man of few words and often held his cards close to his chest, however his actions during life were deafening. G-pa had an unwavering commitment to his work, to the farm, and above all his family. He would watch gleefully on our many adventures, as our curious young minds were so often enthralled with by new experiences his labors provided us. Despite whatever adversity he may have faced in life he would never quit, that was simply not a word in his vocabulary. Although he was a man of few words, when he did speak, he had a wonderful sense of humor or he wanted you to sneak him an extra chip. Which would always be rewarded with a wink and a thumbs up.

In living memory, Your eternally loving grandson Clark

Scripture- Juston

The truth is its really hard for some stories and an obituary to sum up the measure of our lives and simply put, we don’t have all the time that it would take. But friends, we who are found in Christ Jesus, know that this is not a good bye, but simply, see you in a minute. The truth is, and truth that Jerry put his hope and trust in by the way, is that we will have all of eternity with our Jesus to share in stories together. Paul encouraged the church in Thessalonica with these words and still us today.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (ESV)

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

You see, Jerry is preceding us. He is there ahead of us and make no mistakes, as we are here as friends and family grieving the loss of the joy that he has brought to our lives, Jerry stepped into the arms of his Jesus, who died for him. To hear those long awaited words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You’re home.” So today, as we grieve, as we remember, as we gather and say collectively “see you later”, we do so as those who hold this hope: For those who are in Christ, death is not the end but simply the beginning. Amen.

Congregational Singing- Because He Lives

Message- Gary

Congregational Singing:  When We All Get to Heaven

Closing Prayer- Bro. Juston

Father, we thank you for the life of your servant Jerry Hood. We thank you for the many ways that his life has blessed all those who gather here today. We thank you for the legacy of a faithful husband, a wonderful father, a loving grandpa, and a fierce friend. We ask for hope and peace for his family who grieve his love but celebrate his hope, and we pray that we would all learn from and heed his lessons and the example his life sets for us. We thank you for songs of hope, the truth your word provides, and hope that was provided by your cross for all of us. And we praise you and ask all of these things in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus. Amen.